Nano-procrastination and nicknames

Nano-procrastination and nicknames

I’m getting to a point where I’m drifting away from my nanostory. I don’t know what comes next. I like the characters and the setting, but the plot… Well, if you’re doing Nano, you know about the plot. And my revision is a nifty excuse for not working on it.

Or, maybe we could say that my revision is the priority.

But then… Really? A bigger priority than space-faring cannibal engineers? What am I thinking?

I’m thinking about nicknames, today, and whether there’s a gender-based difference in how we use them. Maybe it’s something cultural. But it hit me, today that there are those of us who use (randomly selected, unsanctioned) nicknames to mean that either you are friends, or you would like to be friends, and then, there are those of us who mean I don’t know you, and it’s not worth the effort to get to know you. Yes, I had an encounter. The guy in question is both male and straight-up American. Maybe it’s a situational difference.

So, keep your ears open for me, and give me your thoughts on how you hear people using nicknames over the next few weeks.

In general, I despise them. With a hierarchy of course. Some nicknames/pet names are more of an abomination than others. But I’m fairly sure that most people are actually capable of learning my real name. Or, you know… “hey you” works in a pinch. This was someone I don’t know substituting a term of endearment for the name he doesn’t know. I’m wandering off on a tangent.

So, anyway… the revision is moving, although I do need to look at some pacing issues, now that I’ve done some jumping around.

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4 Comments

In high school my sister was in with a crowd who used nicknames. Her name’s Karen, and they called her ‘Kaz.’ I thought it sounded pretty silly!
I haven’t heard anyone use nicknames recently, but I’ll be listening now!

I’ve never been a nickname person, so I’m already at a negative slant, but I definitely think that it helps in a professional environment if people are able to name you in an identifiable way. The odds that the co-worker who calls you and every other woman sweetheart will suddenly know your name the day someone asks who would be good to promote are not too good.